Birth con
(Continued from page 1)
required to remain in the hospital
more than a few hours.
Price, like personal preference,
varies greatly. In some clinics, the.
price can be as low as $200. Others
prefer the more orthodox
surroundings of a hospital and a
private doctor.
/The USC student at Beth Israel
paid her doctor $338, the hospital
$24K) for the use of the operating
room and the service of the
recovery room in which she rested
for three hours; the
anesthesiologist received $50, total
cost (excluding transportation to
and from New York): $588.
The doctor for this particular
operation was a medium to high
priced gynecologist with an office
in modest, but prestigeous
Grammercy Park, around the
corner from Beth Israel Hospital.
Others simply go up-state New
York or to a clinic where an
abortion can be obtained
somewhat cheaper. Regardless of
what type or cost of the abortion,
one thing is common to all; they
are performed in adequate,
medically approved facilities,
done by competent licensed doc
tors, and they are legal.
According to the USC coed who
was at Beth Israel,, the at
mosphere, no matter how tense,
was preferable to a motel room in
Columbia. The same girl then told
of a friend of hers that had become
pregnant and had an abortion in
Columbia. Various complications
set in, none of which are un
common, and she had to go into a
local hospital. By the time she paid
the abortionist, the doctor and the
hospital, her illegal, local abortion
had cost her $850, plus a very
painful and depressing two weeks.
One of the nurses at the hospital
also commented that the legal
abortion is much easier on the
patient and her child's father. The
emotional pangs of terminating
you childs life can never really b(
totally allievated, but the legalit3
of the operation can greatly lesser
the guilt and emotional hangover
Whatever the benefits of th(
present law in New York, al
doctors interviewed stressed tha
they would prefer better birtl
control programs so that th
abortions performed in New Yorl
would not be necessary.
One such doctor perscribes birtl
control pills to all his abortio1
patients as part of his treatmeni
Most girls, following th
procedure, vow to take the pill
regardless of there sexual habit!
Most college girls interviewed als
blame their unwanted pregnacy o
stupidity, their own for not lookini
into birth control procedures, an
the stupidity of their institutior
for not making the informatic:
easily available, like polio vaccin<
Unfortunately for this particuh
IiSC' coed and according to a oca
g.vnecologist hundreds of othe
I ISC girls, the University of Soul
Carolina does not share the opinic
of most New York or for th;
matter. local doctors.
it is impossible to receive bir
control information or device
pills included, at the USC medic
health facility, the Wallai
Tlhompson Memorial Infirmar
TIhis policy apparently is decide
by the administration of USC,
voiced by D)r. Harvey Burneti
director of the informary.
It is interesting to note that tI
is not the policy of the state
South Carolina. At -The Ricbjai
. onty HIealth Center No .f, . ir
trol -evid(
control information and pills are
dispensed at cost. This facility is
run by the County of Richland, and
supported by the state of' South
Carolina, as is the University.
A doctor at the health center
described the main patrons of the
clinic as "non-white poor." Ac
cording to the physician, the
dispensation of the birth control
material is a normal part of their
duties. The only criteria demanded
by the Richland County Health
U nit are that the .patient be 21,
. . ..... .... .......
:Abortion.
referral
services
It %- O O'RA FT 8
(' unf41111ist
Hello Florida Women's.
Medical Association. May I
help you?"
''ti-h yes, I am a student at
the Iiniversity of South Carolina
and I saw your ad in the
Gamecock, " I said.
'Yes, my name is Adrianne.
+The Florida Women's Medical
Association is a referral
agency. We refer you to a
hospital in New York where the
girl will be on an outpatient
status. She won't have to stay
overnight.
"I want to tell you about the
procedure they use. When was
'.her last period?" the voice was
.soft, sympathetic and under
other circumstances, it could
::have been quite sexy.
"lh two, " I mumbled.
SThe voice name Adrianne
sunded puzzled, "Two days?"
No, two months; eight
weeks."
Adrianne resumed control, I
:see, well then, they would use
the vacuum aspiration
method. Have you ever heard
of it?"
t "'-h, no I haven't."
'Well, the vacuum aspiration
- 8 method is a modern method
C which takes ahnut 6 to 10
minutes and there is no pain
involved."
*No pain, " I said woodenly.
- Yes, no pain and the
e *'operaition is performed by one
sof the finest gynecologists in
-New~ York.
0 Now. if I could have your
n::name'' The operation is very
gsate. TIhere is no more danger.
d in it than in a tonsillectomy.
s -lbh, I'd rather not, if you
n(doin't mind."
- Very well, then. Has the
rpregnancy been confirmed by a
3r 'Yes."
th A drianne went on to tell about i
>n the details of payment and how
at the appointment would be set
up. The cost for the abortion
th ~:would be $25~0.
s' E Iven though the new abortion
l :laws that are emerging in other
e states particularly New York.
aeablessing. Evnthough my
smistress was imaginary and I
as wouldln't have to call The
e'Florida Women's Medical
.Association f'or real, I still
us couldn't shake the feeling that I
~had of being a bad boy who had
.nt factor
have parental permission, or be
married. The clinic is open daily
from 9-M1 a.m. to 1:(X) a.m., and
from 2H) p.m. to 4:(X) p.m.
According to Thomas F. Jones,
president of USC and main
1igurehead of university policy, "I
don't see any changes in this
(dispensation of birth control in
formation) because of the existing
morals and values of the society
which supports the school. This is
information that is rather easily
available and to get from any
doctor."
When a USC girl who had ob
tained an abortion last year was
told of .Jones statement, she
replied "sure, you can get' pills
from a doctor in town, but it's like
sneaking oft in secret because
birth control is something terrible.
''he county clinic gives them
(pills) out. and the same state
supports the clinic as well as the
iniversity. I just think that the
lime will come when the
lUniversity will have to recognize
it's responsibility and realize that
the problem cannot be ignored
lorever."
Foard
discusses
takeover
Fifth Circuit Solicitor
John W. Foard Jr. has
scheduled a pre-trial
conference March 29 with
more than three dozer
people accused in a studeni
takeover of the USC Ac
ministration Building las
spring.
The conference is part of
a special one-week court
term authorized by
Presiding Judge Francis B
Nicholson.
Foard said that the
special term had not beer
scheduled specifically fot
the USC cases, bu
''because of our backlog o
cases.''
When asked about the
purpose of the pre-trial
conference, Foard said, '
can't make that public.
have to discuss it with
everyone involved.''
Foard did, however, stat4
that he would make ar
announcement the Monday,
or Tuesday of that weel
concerning when the cas,
would be disposed of.
Don't bsuy
KCampus
Shop
i---;:A t the movies
.
tNo Blade
Editor's note: Today At the
movies concerns what is billed as
the first environment film, "No
Blade of Grass." Troy Davis, a
well known environmentalist and
chairman of last spring's Earth,
Day Time Capsule project, has
reviewed what is publicized as an
important enviornmental film.
Some people will stoop to about
anything to make a buck.
NO BLADE OF GRASS is sup
posed to be the first of the new
movies that deals directly with the
environmental crisis that the
world is presently experiencing.
With this last statement in mind, I
paid my "All Seats $2" fee and
entered the "fabulous" Fox.
What NO BLADE OF GRASS is
suppossed to be and what it is is an
experience in itself. To put it in a
nutshell, NO BLADE OF GRASS is
a cheap, rip-off movie, with sen
satioralism as its prime theme.
First of all, the film was made in
Panavision, yet shown at the Fox
(which, incidentally, does not have
Panavision facilities). The out
come: some of the movie is shown
on the wall immediately adjacent
to the screen and there are slightly
distorted images at the top of the
screen--which is easy to get used to
it you happen to have twisted
vision or a high content of acid in
your system. But, the set-up at the
Fox can only take minimal blame
for NO ILA)E OF GRASS being a
piece of (a) plastic, (b) bat quano,
Open season
for protest
The UFO operators have been
convicted and are appealing their
case before the S.C. Supreme
Court. Meanwhile, John Foard has
pressed hard against the
university administration for what
he feels is a lack of appropriate
action.
Several arrests for drug law
violations have been made in the
months preceeding elections.
Several arrests for drug law
violations have been made in the
months preceeding elections
inose chnargd with trespassing
and destruction of state propert)
have been judged by the Board oi
Trustees and are awaiting trial
Meanwhile, the Student
Mobilization Committee, under its
inner circle of leadership, has
taken the initiative and sponsored
a demonstration of support for the
Georgetown Steel Strike and has
held a demonstration against the
supposed incursion into Laos. But
the question is: who really runs
the SMC?
The University campus has been
relatively calm--just as one of the
leaders of SMC promised when she
said three months ago, "We don't
plan any heavy agitation until
later."
A deceptive calm, interrupted
by a few bombings, has taken over
the campuses across the nation.
There have been more bomb
threats than anything else. A
number of threats have been
phoned into the campus security
offices here, but nobody will say
how many.
How much "heavy agitation'
SMC plans and what the extent of
student support will be nobody
knows--except that "inner circle'
of SMC, who seems to be calling
thesahnts. ..
of Grass
by Troy Davis s
ic) extreme "rip-off" capitalism
at its best.
MGM studio is responsible for
such a piece of a, b, or c being
released. The movie has all of the
intellectual appeal contained in
such triumphs as "Angels on
Wheels" and about as much
aesthetic value as the "Beverly
Hillbillies." The first 30 minutes of
the flick contains such "sit on the
edge of your uncomfortable chair"
scenes as vomiting on camera.
blood, bikers (complete with
leather jackets, shades, and
chains), blood, cheap mob scenes,
a mother and her "virgin"
daughter being raped, a wounded
soldier who moans and screams in
agony until some decent guy shoots
him in the head to put him out of
his misery. blood, large busts (the
nipple variety , and more blood. In
otherwords, "No Blade of Grasm'
contains all of the elements
necessary to "sell a movie to the
American public. Even the
musical score was performed by a
single organ and a drum--giving
the glorious effect of a dragged-out
soap opera or a cheap late, late
show.
The idea behind the movie is not
really so bad a scene in the future
where the world has reached its
limit of poisons in the air, earth,
and water and the utter outcome
is chaos, cannibalism, and every
man for himself. Maybe this could
actually happen someday, but
believe me, it the producers and
something other than money on
their minds and if there really is a
meaning there were some excellent
pollution shots ---it is buried
among all of the trash (perhaps
pollution'> in the script. If this
flick had been run on the late show,
I would have turned it off.
I you are an environmentalist,
by all means DON'T see title: "No
Blade of Grass." Instead, invest
your two hours and your "All Seats
S2" in something worthwhile, i.e.,
don't be a sucker. After 45 minutes
of this trashy movie, I realized that
I could take no more. Thus, I
proceeded to the manager's office
to ask for my money back (which, I
Cound, cannot be done). Some
people have told me that I should i
have stayed around to see the
'great" ending. All I can say to
them is, that in this case, the ends
could not possibly justify the
means.
Dickey
to read
his works
.James D)ickey, USC's poet-in
residence and best-selling novelist,
will read from his works, past,
present and unpublished 8:00 p.m.,
TIuesday at the Columbia Museum
>of Art.
D)ickey, who calls himself a poet
I irst, has recently scored a great
suc'cess on his first novel,
Deliverance. The book will be
made into a movie this spring by
Warner Brothers; the scenery will
'ove'r selected areas in Georgia.
Wit h little theatrical affectation,
I )ickey likes to surprise himself